Crossed Wires
by cowgirlangel95
Summary: When wires cross paths, communications can become distorted. A few months after Maya graduates college, Josh crosses paths with her once again and they slowly realize that things haven't been as clear between them as they once were - especially when a slip of the tongue sets Maya's mind reeling. Rated T for alcohol and drunkenness.


_**A/N: Long time no write, guys! This adulating thing isn't all it's cracked up to be – especially since I'm still searching which doesn't leave me much time to write like this anymore, but I do have a few ideas up my sleeve, such as this one. I've had this idea in my head for so long, and I was finally able to finish it. It's loosely based on Thomas Rhett's song**_ **Unforgettable.** __

 _ **Disclaimer: don't own anything, just having a bit of fun!**_

Josh haphazardly swayed to the blaring music, the bass shaking the tiny bar. It had been a while since he had gone out, and that much was evident. He only had a couple of beers and was already starting to feel a bit tipsy. Josh shook his head. Growing up definitely took a toll. Not that he was a huge partier in college, but he was at least able to handle more before the buzz kicked in. _Really starting to turn into a lightweight_ , he thought, making himself chuckle lightly.

He turned around, his body facing the bar, and he stopped while the rest of the people on the dance floor continued to bounce around him. However to Josh, they weren't there anymore. The only other person in the room was her. Despite having her back towards him, he knew who it was.

Josh honestly couldn't believe she was here. Her wavy blonde hair tumbled down her back. She was wearing a light gray tee that hung off of one of her shoulders, silver hoop earrings to match, and worn out jeans. To him, it looked like she just came from her studio. Suddenly, it was difficult for him to breathe.

Maya was still as beautiful as ever.

Trying to make sure not to trip over anything or anyone, Josh wove his way over to the bar. He rested his elbow a little ways away from her arm and smiled. "Didn't expect to see you here," Josh said, his words slightly slurring together.

Maya turned to face him and returned the smile. "Same here, Boing. It's been a while."

"That it has," he agreed, trying to slide onto the barstool effortlessly. However, he wasn't square and ended up nearly falling off instead, causing Maya to try and stifle laughter. Josh looked up and caught her eye. He noticed a familiar glint that he hadn't seen in a long time; however it didn't last. She quickly turned away and took a sip of her mango-rita.

Once Josh was sitting safely up on the bar stool, he said, "I'm sober, I swear."

"Yeah, right," Maya snorted, once again sharing a laugh with him. She knew better than to believe that.

"So what have you been up to? It's been, what, almost a year since I've seen you?"

Maya nodded as she spun the can on the bar. "About that, yeah. I've been working full time as an art director, while keeping the weekends for myself to work on my own projects. It can be pretty frustrating at times, but it works." She paused for a moment before asking, "What about you?"

Josh opened his mouth to respond, but before he could answer another guy, sporting a white t shirt and jeans along with a leather jacket, plopped himself down on the other side of Maya. He had red hair, cold eyes, and Josh could tell this guy put Maya on edge a bit… which didn't happen often.

"Hey girl," he purred, "what are you doing tonight?"

Maya closed her eyes for a moment, knocked back the rest of her drink, and turned to Josh. "In the mood to dance, baby?" she asked while grabbing Josh's hand and dragged him to the dance floor.

Confusion laced Josh's face as they made their way to the floor. Once they were lost in the sea of bodies, Maya automatically starting dancing to the upbeat song. Josh noticed that she was a bit closer to him than she would have in the past few years, not that he minded.

Maya grabbed ahold of his hand once again and leaned in close. "Just go with it, I'll explain later," she whispered.

"No problem," he replied as he grabbed ahold of her other hand and spun her around. A huge smile spread across her face as he brought her in close again and moved around the floor. It had been so long since he'd seen her this happy.

The two continued to move across the floor for a few more minutes before Maya looked over Josh's shoulder and relaxed a bit. "We can go back over to the bar now, he's gone."

While Josh didn't want to, he still happily followed Maya over. "So, what was that about?" Josh asked as he sat down beside her.

Maya ran her hand through her hair as she let out a sigh. "Some creep I knew back during college. Sometimes he just can't figure out that I want nothing to do with him. Now that we've graduated, he doesn't do it near as often as he tried during school, but he does every once in a great long while."

"Why didn't you tell me you were having troubles when you were in college?"

She turned towards him and shrugged. "Because for the most part I had it under control. That and I highly doubt your girlfriend would have liked you coming to see me. Kim probably would have understood in the long run, but she never was a huge fan of me. Which reminds me, I'm sorry that I didn't give you a warning about how to slip away from him. I'm sure Kim won't like hearing about that."

Josh pressed his lips into a thin line and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well… I'm sure she'll be okay with it."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound the Kim I know. Anyway, what are you doing here tonight? What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know, just came here to have a bit of a good time. And I'm surprised that Riley hasn't kept you up to speed on what I've been doing."

"Yeah, well…" Maya trailed, pressing her lips into a thin line, "You usually aren't the topic of conversation," she explained. It wasn't that Riley didn't try to bring up Josh, but Maya didn't want to dive into that topic.

" _Hey Maya!" Riley exclaimed as she entered into her mother's bakery, where her best friend was working part time. She plopped down on the stool as Maya leaned over the counter after wiping up the small area after the previous customer left. "When do you get out of here tonight?"_

 _Maya looked up at the clock and tilted her head. "In a couple of hours. Only working a short shift today, why? What's up?"_

" _Up for going out with some friends for a college graduation celebration?"_

" _I think I may be persuaded. Who all is going?"_

 _Riley smiled. "Well obviously there's me, Lucas, Farkle, Josh – "_

 _Maya straightened up and shook her head. "No – I-I can't go," she said, cutting her best friend off._

 _The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Why? Josh is really looking forward to seeing you. He misses you! He hasn't seen you in months!"_

" _Riley, stop! I don't want to hear anything about him…" Maya trailed, wringing the towel in her hand._

" _Why? You two are friends, why don't you want to hear anything about him?"_

" _Because of her, Riles. Everywhere he goes, she goes. She_ knows _about my feelings for him, and she has for a while. Even though I've been keeping them in check because he's with her, she doesn't want me anywhere_ near _him. The last thing I want to do is bust them up. The best way to do that is to just keep away from him and not hear anything about Josh, unless it's from him. All I want is for him to be happy. If it's with her, then so be it," she explained as she walked out from behind one of the counters and started wiping down an already clean table._

 _Riley let out a sigh and approached her best friend from behind. She placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder. Maya turned around as tears streamed down her face._

" _You okay?"_

" _No," Maya choked. "It hurts. Clearly the long game never meant to bring us together in the end. The best way to get over this is to not get involved with him anymore, and that includes updates on him. I need you to promise to me to not mention him unless it's necessary. And don't tell Josh about this. Promise?"_

 _Riley bit the inside of her cheek. She knew Maya was right. But it didn't stop a pit from forming in her stomach, leaving her wondering if this decision would last in the long run._

" _Okay, Maya. I promise."_

Josh nodded slightly as he waved the bartender over. "Two tequila shots," he ordered, making Maya raise a curious eyebrow.

"Tequila? You? Since when?"

Josh chuckled as the bartender brought the drinks over. "I told you I was here to have a good time," he said as he took his glass and drank his. "And I want to make sure that happens."

Maya shook her head as she took hers and threw it back like it was nothing. Josh ordered a few more, and knocked one back rather quickly. "If you keep doing that, you're not going to last much longer," she said as she took another one herself. "You and strong alcohol tend not to get along too well."

"Mmm…" he replied as he ordered yet another and knocked that one back. "You are definitely right about that. But that's not important right now," Josh finished as he stood up and took a couple of steps towards the dance floor, but he paused before he could go any further. "You know – maybe that is important right now," he slurred as he swayed back and forth on his feet.

Maya sprung from her barstool and caught him before he collapsed onto the floor. "Okay, Josh, let's get you out of here," she said as she slid under his arm and made their way towards the door, stumbling on the step down to the sidewalk.

Josh rubbed his hand over his forehead. "My apartment is, like, three or four blocks away…" he mumbled. "…never make it."

"We're going to my apartment; you can sleep it off there on the couch. It's only about a block away. That and there's no way I'm carrying you three or four city blocks," Maya replied, nearly falling down under Josh's weight as they rounded the corner. "Finally, a benefit of having my apartment a few minute walk away," she said under her breath.

The two of them entered the apartment building and Maya navigated a grumbling Josh to the elevator. Josh continued to mutter as they made their way up, but what he was saying Maya couldn't distinguish. He was too quiet, and his words were too slurred. _One would think he would know when to stop after all this time, but apparently not and now here we are_ , she thought.

Once the elevator doors opened, Maya quickly made her way to her apartment down the hall. She opened her apartment door and directed Josh towards the couch, allowing him to fall down on the couch with a loud thud. She ran her head through her hair and let out a sigh. "Okay… if you need the bathroom, there's a half bath on your left behind the living area here. Do you need anything?"

Josh looked up at her, his eyes glazed over. "I'm gonna marry you someday…" he trailed before he closed his eyes and slumped over on the couch.

Maya stood there looking at him – stumbling back slightly with eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. "What in the world?!" she whispered. She rocked back on her left foot, turned away from him as she ran a hand through her hair, and looked back at him crumpled on the couch. So many questions raced through her mind, but none of them could be answered – for now anyway.

She trudged her way over to her room, shut the door behind her, and slumped down to the floor. Maya pulled her phone out from her pocket and brought up Riley's number, but her thumb froze over her best friend's number. She glanced at the time displayed in the top right corner. It showed 2:37am – clearly way past the time Riley would be awake.

Maya crawled over to her bed, slipped into her pajamas, and flopped down on her bed. _All I wanted to do tonight was have a drink and unwind. Got the drink, was fine… now my nerves are through the roof!_

She shook her head as she rolled over. "Tomorrow is going to be fun," Maya grumbled.

OoOoO

Josh opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. He shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight pouring into the room as he rolled over and sat up. His head started pounding as he rested his forehead in his hands and let out a groan. "Maybe tequila wasn't the best of ideas," Josh grumbled.

"I could have told you that."

Josh turned around to see Maya standing in the kitchenette, sipping coffee. "I believe you did."

Maya nodded silently and looked away from him, pressing her lips into a thin line. Josh stood up and walked towards her. "Everything okay?"

She inhaled sharply and whipped her head up to face him. "Do you remember saying something to me before you passed out on the couch?"

Josh raised an eyebrow as he thought back to the previous night. Most of the night after he nearly fell at the bar was rather hazy. He knew that they came back to her place, but he couldn't recall anything that he said. "No?"

Maya pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled slowly as dread gripped her small frame. She looked up at him and shook her head slightly. "You said, 'I'm gonna marry you someday,' before you passed out on my couch." Josh's eyes widened as the words hung in the air between them. "Really, Josh?! How could you say something like that!"

"Well, if you remember, I was clearly drunk so I didn't know what I was saying," he retorted.

"I know better than that," she fired back. "Alcohol doesn't work like that, especially at the stage _you_ were at. You may not know what you said since you clearly don't remember, but in that moment you were revealing so much about who you really are! How could you do that to your girlfriend?" Maya asked. "What is she going to say when she finds out about –"

Josh's jaw clenched. "Kim isn't going to find out!" he shouted, his eyes seething.

Maya's mouth fell open at his words. "What kind of guy are you for saying that? Why would you do that to your girlfriend?!"

"Because she's not my girlfriend anymore! That's why, Maya!"

His words echoed off the apartment walls, and Maya simply looked at him with wide eyes. What had just happened? Did he really just say that?

"What?" Maya whispered.

Josh looked down at the floor and shook his head. "We broke up a couple months ago, about a month or so after you graduated," he explained. "Or should I say, she broke up with me." He turned and made his way back to the couch, and allowed himself to fall onto the cushions with a thud.

After a moment, Maya allowed herself to follow him and sit beside him, curling her legs underneath her. "What happened between you two? Last I knew you two were rather happy."

"Well, our relationship headed south pretty quickly. I heard about how she approached you about a year ago, and I may have taken it rather hard. I confronted her about it, and she got offended that I defended you. She had no right to treat you like that, Maya."

Maya slowly nodded. "She was right, in a way, in what she told me though… wait, how did you find out?"

Josh tilted his head and looked at her. "Who do you think?"

"Riley…" she trailed, leaning back into the couch

He nodded. "Yeah, Riley. But don't be mad at her, she didn't mean to tell me about your conversation with her. It just slipped out one night when we were talking."

A long silence fell between the two of them before Maya asked, "So, now what?"

Josh moved a bit closer to her and took her and in his. He looked up into her eyes and smiled. "How about we see where the long game wants to take us now? See if what I said last night will come true."

Maya returned the smile and nodded. "You know I've always been in it for the long game."

 _ **A/N: Let me know what you thought of it! Hope to write for you again soon, lovelies!**_


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